Wednesday, October 5, 2016

10 Things every Traveler should Carry

Traveling is one of the most enjoyable activities known to mortals. All travelers, irrespective whether they are lazy or proactive would agree on one common ground- Packing the travel bag is the only non-sugary part of the whole game. Why? Because, we are expected to remain calm while throwing those right things into our backpack despite that horny pre-traveling mood! It is along the course of our trip we discover that we have missed out few travel essentials, which is often manageable but sometimes disastrous. Can you expect to find your piles ointment at Everest base camp or toilet tissue roll in a remote village of India? In this article I will condition your mind with few essential things which you should never miss out while stuffing your travel bag. Most of these things you already know but you tend to forget them in the excitement of exploring a new destination. Besides common travel essentials, make a checklist of these 10 things which every traveler must carry:

* You should never forget to carry Toilet Paper roll: Even if you have the habit of washing your assets after blissful purgation, like majority of Indians, do not be a miser to leave out a toilet paper roll. It is one of the most versatile things a traveler can have in his backpack. You can remove a greasy stain, wrap some dry eatables, wipe off your utensils, nurse your watering nose and the list continues. After all, if a mischievous crow poops over your head how are you going to clean it up?

* You should never forget to carry few meters of a strong nylon Rope: Even if you are not going for camping or hiking trip, a rope might come handy in your traveling. In a budget hotel you can tie the rope in your balcony and hang your wet clothes to dry. In worst scenario if your bag/suitcase/trolley bursts open, you can assemble it again temporarily by tying it from all four sides. Don’t carry more than 8-10 meters of rope, otherwise it’ll add up to your luggage weight.

* You should never forget to carry a strip of Super-glue: It can fix anything and everything, starting from your broken glasses to shoe sole. It is just in my last trek I realized the essentialness of a super-glue when one of my fellow trekkers parted with his shoe sole and a strip of super-glue from somebody else’s rucksack saved him from walking barefoot in the dense forest trail. Since then it has found a permanent place in my travel bag.

* You should never forget to carry a Crepe Bandage and few Medicated adhesive bandages: Once your limb suffers soft tissue injury resulting from fall, stretch or
strain, nothing can give better relief to it than a crepe bandage. Although it will be disrespectful for the crepe bandage but still you can exploit it as a rope when you need to! Medicated adhesive bandages come in different names like Band-aid, Hansaplast etc. Buy the wash-proof variety and keep 5-6 of them in your bag. Hold on, I do not expect you to get 5-6 accidental cuts on your body but you never know those infinite possibilities, do you? Moreover, these mini bandages come to use when you get painful shoe-sore.

* You should never forget to carry a Foldable sharp Knife: Some prefer a small scissor in their travel bag but I go with the knife. After all, can you slice/peel off fruits with a scissor? Don’t carry a large knife or you may be harassed in the airport and remember not to put into your cabin luggage. Now do I have to preach on 100 roles of a knife?

* You should never forget to carry a Power Bank or a mobile phone with marathon battery: Better spend 1000-1500 bucks (~ 25 USD) for a heavy-duty power bank which will guarantee 2-3 emergency recharges of your smart phone battery. I personally prefer carrying a simple phone with marathon battery. It’ll come to rescue once your expensive smart phone gives up and you don’t have luxury of recharging it. You may ask- how is it superior to a power-bank? Well, a branded power-bank (anything over 10,000 mAh) is way too expensive and adds substantial bulk to your luggage weight. Of course, if you have too many online obligations which your smart phone can only assist then definitely go for a reliable power-bank to juice up cell phone from time to time.

* You should never forget to carry few Plastic Packets: Carrying few plastic packets of different sizes can prove beneficial anytime. You may pack your wet clothes inside them or, safeguard all your dry items in case water sips into your supposedly waterproof backpack. You can also dump all your waste products throughout the day and dispose it off later to a recycle bin. Take proper care to ensure that your plastic packets are strong enough to hold your goods and also environment friendly. For devil’s sake do not litter them anywhere along the route.

* You should never forget to carry Hard-copy of Travel Map and Tourist Information:
Most probably you do online research work while planning your travel
itinerary (If you didn't then start doing it from your coming trip).
Take a clear printout of your travel map and relevant details, collected
from different travel forums and Wiki. Before converting it to
hard-copy, concise the material and limit it to not more than ten pages.
When every other source (electronic gadget, local people etc) betrays,
this modest booklet will be your travel lifeline. Moreover you can
always crosscheck info and aid to your safety, budget and entertainment.

* You should never forget to carry a Cigarette Lighter and a Torch:
These are useful not only to travelers who smoke but also to those who
hate it. Anytime you may need a source of fire and matchsticks may not
always light up due to dampness or the wind. Keep a good quality gas
lighter in your travel bag that won’t leak. Also keep a battery operated
LED pencil torch. A LED torch consumes very little battery and enough
to accompany you throughout the trip on a single recharge.

* You should never forget to carry your valid Driving License:
You never know when you need to hire a self-drive vehicle in emergency
situation, or to explore a scenic route. If you are traveling
international you are bound to carry your passport, but if you’re
traveling domestic then your driving license will eliminate the need to
carry any other extra identity proof which can be demanded anytime and
anywhere. Never travel without a single ID proof. Oh yes, make sure that
your driving license has not expired.

These are enough for time being. Here, I reminded you of those 10 things
which every traveler should carry, yet misses out often while packing
his travel bag. There are few more
things which are really vital, like- your daily medications, travel
documents, credit/debit card etc which I haven’t included in this post
as it is highly unlikely that you'll forget packing them. May be I’ll
come up with another article on travel essentials. Be responsible,
smart, nature-loving and keep clicking photos on the go!

He has been blogging since 2007, and the pen often runs out of ink, but thankfully the mystic spirit of traveling-clicking-storytelling always reconquers Anunoy before it gets too late! In his early childhood, Anunoy’s craving for backpacking was sowed by his father. He has been a rolling stone ever since, forming passionate bonds with motorcycle touring and photography to add more layers to his wander lust. Between see-sawing a small family and a thankless job, Anunoy Samanta manages to run his own photography cum travel blog- Clicking Photos on the Go.